"Machine" politics

[theboss]

I posted this as an answer on another thread and thought it was brilliant in my usual low-key way. So...I'm reposting it here in its own thread.

Machine politics is based around finding large pockets of like-minded voters and getting them to the polls at the same time with commands of who to vote for.

The Democratic Machine has largely fallen apart since the '70s but in the northeast you can still find pockets where it works. It works this way.

Before election day:
1. Get the Unions to canvass for you.
2. Use the City Politicians to get the patronage workers organized.
3. Speak at all the black churches.
4. Speak at every senior center and assisted living facility you can find.
5. Flood the spanish-langauge stations with ads.

On election day:
1. Get a bus to the Union Hall.
2. Have the patronage workers get their families to the polls.
3. Get the black preachers on your side to GOTV.
4. Get a bus to the senior center
5. Find the Latino vote wherever you can and get them to the polls somehow.

In the modern age, Unions and patronage workers have largely merged.

If it is still too close to call, you need get to the college towns and get the kids to the polls.

There are other small pockets of voters that are key in certain states like New York and California. And those are gays and Jews. But both groups are nearly unanimously pro-Democratic and are - frankly - more important for fundraising than for votes. David Geffen and Steven Spielberg are only two votes but can fund a month's worth of advertising in California.

That's how Democrats win elections, Charlie Brown.